Hero's and Civilians
by Joshiro.ukitake
Summary: Mel is a civilian, the most ordinary of civilians, however when she was dragged out to lunch, no one could warn her about the day she was going to have. Features my guardians and a civilian OC on a trip to the tower. This story used bits and pieces of world lore and lore I have created, however nothing too wild, I like my stories when they fit into the world smoothly.
1. Lunch with a Drama

**Hi, So I Haven't posted in quite a while and I've been writing lately to pass time and help with my mental space. I thought that I might post some stories again although, I am having trouble writing actively so just be aware there might be some time between updates in the future, I get writing block a lot. I hope you enjoy the story.**

**I want to make this story accessible to those who might have limited knowledge about Destiny, but I also don't want to drag the story down, so I hope I can get the balance right.**

**I do not own Destiny/ Destiny 2, or the characters included in my story other than my own characters.**

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Chapter 1:

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The girl sat with a scowl and fiddled with a bracelet made of glass beads, trying to ignore everyone around her stubbornly. Her mother was smothering her, not allowing her to go off on her own. This had been a problem since the city had fallen months ago and the girl thought it was stupid, there weren't even any cabal in the city anymore, who did she think was going to hurt her? Honestly... She looked around trying to stave off boredom while her mother chatted to a bunch of other adults that she didn't care to listen too right now. The girl was fifteen with tanned skin and a mess of black hair framed her face in curls. They were waiting for their lunch to be brought out, it was a slow process since half the building lay in ruins and the kitchen only just managed to be running as it was. The cabal had well and truly done a great job in destroying most of the city in one fell swoop, this place was just one of the victims spread across the city.

No one had expected them, not even the legendary guardians of the city. The morning of the attacks was quite dismal. dark angry looking thunderclouds hung over the city, the day had started out ordinarily enough and she was about to leave the house with her parents when a thunderous explosion sounded from somewhere outside. people rushed outside to investigate, only to discover that the tower had become a burning torch against the black sky. people panicked as smaller sounds started exploding through the city as cabal ships flew overhead, cabal drop pods began to rain down with explosive force. When the traveller was caged, the guardians seemed doomed to fail and she herself had seen the light ripped out of a guardian who had taken to protecting her and a bunch of other people she was with. the Guardian remembered with precise detail how the guardian could barely breath and collapsed with shock, the ghost became a black empty shell on the ground beside her. The guardian told everyone to run as she managed to find the strength to stand, not for long however and a deafening bang signalled the end of our protector. When the red legion finally fell, many guardians didn't come back, and those that did wore their lessons in a painful reminder of their mortality as they grieved for those who could no longer come back.

Many things changed after the war and one of those things was how the guardians were treated, many people blamed them for the loss of life, if the guardians had been better prepared then perhaps we wouldn't have lost so many, there had always been a gap between guardians and normal people but now guardians barely came down from their tower without a reason. You could still see the odd guardian around doing patrols or errands, but they didn't make eye contact with people anymore, much less spoke. As they walked past, men and women alike would shoot accusing glares and make offhand remarks. I don't think many saw the guilt that followed some guardians around an instead people just wanted someone to blame. The girl herself missed seeing guardians in the last city, she thought it stupid to blame the guardians for everything, but what did a kid know she supposed. She sighed and brought herself back to reality as she overheard her mother's conversation.

"the nerve… They should all they stay in their towers" her mother grumbled, shooting a dirty look up to what remained of a second floor.

Her friends nodded in agreement "we are better off without the guardians, honestly…".

The girl looked up to where the insults were being sent and she was surprised to see not only one guardian but three, a hunter, warlock and titan. The girl began watching them with interest going back to ignoring the adults, sending a scowl in their general direction. After a few minutes, it seemed like the room had become toxic, people muttered under their breath, obviously pissed that the guardians were here. It was then that she made her mind and stood muttering a lazy excuse before leaving the table, not that her mother noticed. Looking around the room, there were no steps up to where they were, and since it was the second floor they were on, it was almost impossible for her to get up there without help, which she adamantly refused to ask for. The guardians didn't seem to notice her interest in them which pleased her. her plan was to causally walk up to them and say hi.

After scanning the room, she tried to walk outside subtly in the hope there was a way up there instead. There was no front of the shop and the sides had also crumbled so it was easy to get around to the side of the building where she lit up, there was a huge pile of rubble which she could use to get up to the second floor. She moved over to the rubble and started climbing it without a second thought and it was going fine until she got half way up and suddenly a brick gave way underneath her. It caused a domino effect and suddenly she felt herself trying to keep her balance, it wasn't long before she started falling back and she instinctively reached up with desperation. Just when she thought she would fall and be buried by rubble; she felt a strong grip around her hand, and she fell against the building as the rubble fell beneath her. She was now hanging, and she looked up to see the titan kneeling above her on the edge. The titan waved her other hand as if telling her to reach up, with a big effort, she reached up and the titan grabbed her other hand tightly before pulling her up effortlessly. As the titan stood, she put me on the floor away from the edge, letting go now that the she was safe.

The girl looked around with a grateful sigh, her heart beating a million miles an hour. all three guardians were looking at her, she could tell that much despite all of them wearing helmets that she couldn't see through. She suddenly felt very nervous and went red with embarrassment, she had hoped to be a lot smoother than that "uh… thanks" she murmured before looking at the floor awkwardly. The titan nodded before bringing her hands up to her neck and looked up as she fiddled with her armour, a sudden hiss sounded from her and the titan brought her hands to her helmet, lifting it off her head.

The woman held her helmet one hand and ran her other through her hair, combing the messy bob with her fingers before she smiled at the girl "are you ok? That was a bit of a tumble", she eyed the girl with mild worry.

The girl nodded before realizing her wrists kind of hurt, but it wasn't a big deal "thanks… I was just…" she trailed off, too embarrassed to say what she was trying to do.

The titan shrugged "no biggie, I am just glad you're ok, what were you after?" she looked curious as if searching for a reason other than herself and the other guardians.

The girl shifted even more awkwardly and avoided the titans eyes for a moment before clearing her throat "I just wanted to check out the second floor…" she bit her lip looking moody, she found herself wanting to tell the truth, the titan seemed friendly enough "…and I kind of thought it might be cool to say hello" she paused and gave a moody glare downstairs "I'd rather not stay down there..".

The titan looked surprised and the guardians all glanced downstairs curiously before returning their gaze to the girl, the titan then smiled and kneeled before holding out her hand 'a pleasure to meet you then".

The girl shook her hand in reply and nodded "yeah... you too…".

The titan moved to sit on the ground with a peaceful sigh "welcome to the guardians seclude then, my name is Elsie" she mused playfully, her positivity drowned out the hatred for the guardians in the room, helping the girl feel a little bit at ease.

The girl shifted to face the guardians before shooting them all a shy smile "you can call me Mel, uh, thank you again for saving me..." she blushed again and cleared her throat "I was going to make a much cooler entrance in head" she hoped that she was covering up her embarrassment a little.

the other two guardians stood to the side a bit awkwardly, glancing down over the crowd below before sitting down with the titan and relaxing as the titan had started defusing the situation. the titan however was already clearly quite comfortable and laughed at Mel's comment "if it makes a difference, I thought you were cool" she smiled and leaned over and punched her shoulder lightly "and saving is what we do, don't worry about it".

Mel nodded in response and smiled noticing what the titan looked like. Elsie had bulky amour, expected of a titan. She was as huge as her title suggested; fur lined her shoulders surrounded with two large shoulder plates. The rest of her armour made her look quite slim. the titan herself glowed; she was from the race of awoken with purple skin almost pale violet in colour with freckles on her face. her hair was dark purple and hung in a short bob that looked as though it hung straight and neat normally, it was messy because he had taken her helmet off, she guessed. light danced across her skin making Mel's eyes go wide with surprise as she'd never seen an awoken up close before. her eyes were lit up so brightly they looked white.

the titan seemed to notice her staring and playfully made a pose as if modelling "do I look good? I'm wearing my best armour today" she grinned.

Mel blushed before stifling a giggle "sorry... I just, I've never met a guardian before... or seen an awoken in person..." she sighed with awe "your beautiful... and your amour is nice too" she added. Mel glanced at the other guardians and noticed that they too were taking their helmets off. she was stunned when all three of the guardians turned out to be awoken.

the hunter looked quite like the titan only her hair seemed to be longer and it was pulled up into a loose and messy bun behind her. the warlock however looked a bit wild, her hair was bright reddish, almost orange in colour and she looked like she'd been struck by lightning as her hair stood on its ends around her head, almost like a swirling sun, she had a neat bang that made the front of her hair look neater though. the hunter gave off a colder vibe but still had a smile, the warlock however looked excited.

"Mel was it?" the warlock questioned before offering her hand "it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Skye".

Mel took her hand and shook it with a nod "a pleasure to meet you too" she glanced around at the three "you guys look like sisters, the prettiest sisters I've ever seen' she complimented.

the hunter offered her hand with a chuckle "funny you should say that, we are sisters, my name is Anne, a pleasure".

Mel smiled before looking thoughtful "I didn't think things like sisters existed among the guardians to be honest, I was told that most guardians were people who'd been revived" she looked at the guardians with interest.

Kay was the first to speak "well technically you are correct, but family is who you choose, even among guardians, comradely is important when you're fighting together after all" she smiled.

Elsie spoke up next "for sure, most of us have no history and only know what they have done in their guardian lives, we create new lives and families" she smiled.

Mel nodded thoughtfully "so how did you guys become guardians? What is it like?" she looked curiously at the three. the guardians showed mixed emotions as the questions seemed to bring back memories.

"being a guardian is great in a lot of ways, but it has it's down sides too, the pleasant things beat the unpleasant though" Elsie spoke thoughtfully, "as for how we became guardians, a ghost found us, where and how is unique to each guardian...".

"I was born in the stars..." the warlock spoke thoughtfully "I remember waking up with a start and I was surrounded by a bunch of guardians who were on their way to Venus. It was a research team that had a lost ghost with them. she found me in a space wreck" she held out her hand and her ghost phased into existence, hovering above it. the ghost looked flatter than the average ghost and had metal lining on its edges, the metal of the body however was replaced by a constellation pattern that seemed to change as you looked at it. "my ghost's name is hope... cheesy, know, but she found me in the stars... the most random place, and if she found me in the endless space, then surely there's always hope" she muses, the ghost looked fondly at the warlock before turning and nodding to Mel in agreement.

The titan spoke next "well I was born in mars, in one of the old buildings almost covered in sand, a few years and I would have been gone" she chuckled, she looked to her left as the ghost appeared next to her shoulder, this ghost had the appearance of a neon advertisement board but smaller, the colours changed constantly and it too nodded before speaking.

"I decided to travel, it was a long time of searching before I decided, instead of just looking, I would assist the vanguard in my own way, I found my guardian by accident" the ghost spoke "my name is specks, it's a pleasure".

The hunter had quietly watched the other two before her ghost appeared in front of her, Mel was immediately put off as it looked like a normal ghost only it looked as though it was made of chocolate. It was however very obviously alive, and the hunter seemed amused at Mel's reaction "my ghost's name is dust, she found me in the cosmodrome wall in old Russia".

Mel looked at the guardians and their ghosts with admiration "you guys are so cool" Mel looked out over the crowd below before looking back to the guardians deciding these guys were definitely more entertaining to be around "so what do you guys normally do?".

Elsie held up hand and tapped her fingers as she listed their main duties which included bounties, scrapping and defence of areas as well as class specific duties, for example, titans defended the walls or are the first to defend civilians if need be.

Mel smiled and listened with great interest until she sighed thoughtfully "everyone is wrong about you guys…".

The three guardians look surprised and confused at her words. "wrong?" Skye asked curiously.

Mel paused and froze realising what she had said and cringed, her words spilled out before she could think about it. She bit her lip before replying 'all the adults think you guys are useless..." she paused looking disappointed "but I don't think so, I don't see their lazy asses helping guard the city most of time...'.

The guardians look slightly solemn before the titan shrugged it off 'I suppose they weren't wrong to think that a while ago, we were unprepared for such a huge scaled attack on the city'.

The warlock looked at her hands as her mind wandered 'we lost many guardians that day... but I think people forget that we lost people too...' the two beside her agreed.

The girl looked questioning 'I thought all guardians could come back... didn't they come back when the light did?'.

the titan shook her head 'it's not the light that brings us back, it's our ghosts using the light... the cabal killed our ghosts meaning the dead couldn't come back...'.

Mel looked shocked and then sad as she processed that information 'did you know anyone who lost their ghost?'.

the three nodded their head in response "we were the lucky ones'.

she looked confused eyeing their ghost's 'then couldn't you bring the others back as well? You still have ghosts...'.

The titan continued 'it's hard to explain but each ghost finds their one guardian and they make a pair, they can't be anyone else's ghost from that point on, they can only resurrect that one person'.

'Oh' the girl replied before looking at the floor "I didn't know it worked that way...'

The titan shrugged 'it isn't common knowledge in the city, but all guardians know... some of the most notorious guardians in our history were murderers and ghost killers...'

'usually it's when a guardians light is tainted when things like that happen", The warlock smiled trying to lighten the mood "it doesn't happen often though'

Suddenly the peace of the room was disrupted by a loud screech 'Melanie?! Where did you go?!'. Mel cringed and hid her face with a scowl before standing and waving embarrassed down to the first floor, her mother was pacing around the room anxiously looking for her, when she finally looked up, her mother looked furious 'GET DOWN HERE, you are In so much trouble'

Mel bit her lip before returning her furious glare with her own 'no'.

Her mother looked stunned for a second before suddenly you could almost see smoke flare from her nostrils 'get down here right this second'.

The girl turned away from her in denial 'nope, you're going to have to make me'.

The guardians sat behind her awkwardly not saying anything while the rest of the room was dead silent.

Her mother was so furious her words stopped working for a moment 'I swear to god if you don't come down...'.

The girl turned and stomped angrily 'what do your goanna do, kill me? Disown me, it will be no worse then what you already do, I'm not a kid anymore but ever since the attack I haven't able to leave your side, the attack is over, don't you get it, we are safe, the guardians are protecting us again' she glared at her mother 'I need some space...'.

The mother looked a bit stunned, but it didn't last long 'the guardians... the guardians who let the city fall in the first place? Hmm... sure they are, we are all just waiting until they fail again' she growled 'I'm trying to protect you'.

The girl screamed in frustration 'you're all the same, just let it go, could you guys have fought off the cabal? No, didn't think so, I'm going to stay with the guardians this afternoon... if nothing more than just to prove a point' she glared 'if I come home with one scratch, then I'll admit you were right but if I don't, you have to take your head out of your ass and relax more... I'll be home tonight' she turned and plopped onto the ground angrily facing the guardians with crossed her arms, proceeding to ignore her mother who continued to try to talk her Down.

The guardians looked awkward at having been brought into the argument 'are you sure you want to do this... she is your mother...' the titan spoke quietly 'we don't want to cause a fight'.

Mel shrugged 'Its beyond stupid, she didn't even notice I was gone until a minute ago and now she is mad at you guys, I want to prove a point' she scowled before sighing 'but it's ok if you want to go, I didn't mean to pull you guys into it... you don't need to stay, I'm safe even without you guys' she looked apologetic.

In the background, her mother and friends stomped out of the cafe angrily having lost the patience to keep trying to talk her down. The guardians looked thoughtful 'well we did have some errands to run in the city, but they aren't majorly important', the titan looked to the other guardians and they shrugged.

'it's better than working for a day...' the warlock continued.

Mel looked hopeful 'how about I come with you?' She looked embarrassed 'I mean, if it's not inconvenient... that's ok too'.

The hunter looked her up and down thoughtfully 'well I suppose you could, but we need to go quite the distance, are you sure?'.

The girl nodded 'it sounds fun, or more fun than being stuck in my house with my overprotective mum...'.

The warlock sighed 'well she is only like that because she loves you, you realise this right?'.

The girl nodded 'I know" she sighed "it's just so frustrating, I want her to see that I can do things by myself and she needs to chill, she needs to let go of the red war… it wasn't even that bad for our family…'.

the warlock stared at her thoughtfully before nodding 'then on one condition, you should apologise to your mother tonight after you have both cooled down, if you do that, you can stay with us until dusk' she smiled.

The girl sighed and hesitated before nodding 'ok'.

The hunter held out a hand 'shake on it and we have a deal'. The girl took her gloved hand and shook it with a nod, she didn't know if she would apologise though, she just didn't voice this, the guardians probably wouldn't check.

With that, the titan stood and offered her hand, helping Mel stand up 'off we go then'.


	2. Babysitting

**Hi, so just a quick note, feel free to review, I'd love to hear what you think and if you spot any errors or weird wording, feel free to let me know.**

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Chapter 2:

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In the aftermath of Mel and her mother's explosive argument, the cafe was almost silent with the awkward chinking of plates and cutlery being the only quiet sounds to break the silence. eyes continuously glanced up at the guardians as they stood and somewhat awkwardly waved at the crowd before moving to leave. the ghosts that were still hanging around scanned the three helmets in the guardian's hands and the helmets phased out of existence a moment later, followed by the ghosts who went back into hiding on the guardian's person. the hunter was the only one who didn't pay attention to the crowd below and she walked to the edge of the building where the titan had saved Mel. the hunter however didn't stop at the edge and stepped off the ledge dropping instantly. Mel's eyes went wide, and she dashed forward to catch the hunter stop in mid-air before landing daintily on the messy stack of blocks and jump forward off them. the hunter's cloak floated behind her majestically and the hunter looked gloriously uncaring as she landed in front of the bricks gently and kept walking. The warlock followed without another word, but she did a little jump off the edge instead of just falling like the hunter did. she seemed to freeze in mid-air as she started to fall slowly, her robes floating around her. the warlock gracefully glided to the ground, following the hunter.

Mel was left dumbstruck as she'd never seen guardians do anything like it before. it wasn't strange to expect that they had abilities they didn't normally have to use around the city, but seeing them use them now was eye opening, what else could guardians do. the titan chuckled and walked up to Mel amused "so I'll see you down there" the titan went to jump and threw herself of the edge eagerly, as she fell, she started gliding quickly, yet smoothly toward the ground, landing less gracefully than the other too, but no less cool.

time seemed to slow down as Mel realised that couldn't get down and nodded numbly "sure..." she looked around for an exit or anything before glancing at the ground below her helplessly.

Mel then noticed the titan shoot her a grin before stepping back a few steps and jogging toward the building, kicking hard off the ground. Elsie sailed up into the air toward Mel and gracefully landed beside her once more, patting her shoulder, "kidding, I'd never leave you stuck up here, your mother would kill me" she mused "mind if I carry you for a minute? or you could get on my back too if you'd prefer".

Mel blushed at the suggestion of being carried but she eyed the armour she wore and figured she probably wouldn't be able to hold on properly. "you can carry me..." she spoke feeling awkward.

Elsie nodded and put an arm around her shoulders before sweeping Mel her off her feet, holding her in a princess hold close to her chest. the armour was surprisingly warm and unsurprisingly rather solid, however as awkward as she felt, she couldn't deny that the titans strong hold made her feel safe and secure. her heart started beating faster as the titan stepped toward the edge and her stomach dropped as the titan stepped off. Despite having seen all the guardians jump off and land safely, she still felt afraid of falling and closed her eyes in fear. they only fell for what felt like a second before it was replaced by wind gushing into her as the titan glided toward the ground quickly. the titan landed with a thud and she felt the ground under her feet as the titan put her down. She'd never felt more grateful to be on the ground.

she looked around and took a deep breath as she realised, she'd held her breath unintentionally, Skye and Anne were waiting in the street, and both gave disapproving looks to Elsie before smiling to Mel once more and waving her over.

"you're a show pony, you know, that right?" Joan commented to the titan.

Elsie shrugged her shoulders innocently "don't know what you're talking about..." she then gave a playful grin totally betraying the innocence she was trying to portray. Mel wasn't mad, in fact the way the guardians interacted was very comfortable to be around, and as they talked together, they started talking among themselves and Elsie excitedly remembered something she'd done the other day. "...so there I was right, surrounded by fallen and bang, they kill me, that was annoying but specks waited until they didn't expect it and bam, I revive and slam, oh if Shaxx had seen it" she clutched her fist proudly "fair to say I won, I got paid well for it too..".

Mel found herself listening mostly, it was somewhat disturbing to start with when the mentioned dying in a positive light but the way they turned a losing situation into a win was fascinating. after half an hour, the guardians seemed to remember that Mel as following them, and they looked apologetic "sorry... we haven't seen each other for a while" Skye commented "we tend to get distracted".

Mel shook her head quickly, waving her hands "no, it's ok... I kind of like it... it's kind of weird that you guys are human too…" she blushed "I-I mean of course your awoken, but I mean you guys aren't Frames... you know...guardians can come off a bit cold like that...".

the guardians look thoughtful at that before the titan nodded "yeah, I can see why we would seem like that..." she smiled "Well is there anything else out you want to find out about guardians?".

the warlock nodded in agreement "of course, feel free to ask away if you have any questions" the hunter didn't speak but nodded in agreement with Skye's words.

Mel looked thoughtful as her mind raced, she wanted to ask so much but what to start with "well... I was kind of wondering what makes you guys different to each other..." she motioned to Elsie "like, your obviously a titan and you guys protect the wall, you said that already, but what about the warlocks and hunters..." she felt a bit stupid asking but she didn't really know much about warlocks at all and hunters were scouts generally but was that all she knew other than they did more than that.

Skye looked thoughtful "well.." she sighed as if choosing her words "it really depends on the context, but let's see..." she looked at the titan before clapping her hands as if she got an idea 'right, well as activities go, the classes differ by what they do, a great example is the titans defending the city, that is their main goal and activity, they breathe for the stuff normally. their tasks cover security as a general thing." the titan agreed whole heartedly.

Skye then smiled "this probably sounds bias, but warlocks have a more interesting role, most of the time warlocks are born with curiosity about everything, they can go all over the galaxy in the search and research of information and we use that information to serve the city. for example" she paused "not the greatest example, but regardless, on the day of the attack we realized that the sensors were down and we reported that information and tagged it for research, so we would send people to check on the equipment..." she paused before continuing "We weren't quick enough that day, but normally we are...". she looked distant for a moment before glancing at Anne.

"hunters tend to be lone wolves both in the wild and at home, they are often sent as scouts to places that need it, if we haven't seen or heard from an area for a while we might send a hunter first as they are quick and efficient at stealth missions" the hunter nodded at this as if agreeing and Skye continued "hunters aren't just scouts though, they often are much sharper then warlocks and titans as they tend to be on their own more and have no choice but to be sharp, if you have a hunter on your trail then you should feel scared because they are effective trackers and often have access to the best information, even if they don't have permission technically, hunters tend to be pretty good at getting what they want and are great for support in a fight".

Mel soaked in the information before commenting "hunters sound pretty shady all up" she smiled

at that Anne laughed "Take it from me, you should never trust a hunter entirely, they usually have a knife behind their back"

"hunters can be as noble as any other class though, just because they do things in a shady way, it's often for the best reason… and glimmer" Elsie commented, the hunter nodded in agreement.

"so, are most guardians like you guys? I mean like personality wise..." Mel continued.

the titan commented this time beating the warlock who went to respond "yes and no, usually the moral area is similar and we see things eye to eye, but personalities can differ, I've met some wet blankets of guardians before" she chuckled to herself "as a general rule though, titans generally share their interests in strategy and tend to like leading in a party. warlocks can be high and mighty pricks but you get them started on something and they will never shut up" she grinned at Skye and she nodded with a sigh "hunters usually bleed confidence and it tends to get them killed a lot, but they are usually dependable and consistent in their work. they tend to chase perfection" Anne nodded in agreement at her words.

their conversation was interrupted by Skye's Ghost, hope appearing over her shoulder "incoming call from Ikora Ray". all eyes turned to the warlock as she nodded and watched her ghost separate, becoming a glowing ball of light that wavered as a voice came through the communication line.

"Guardian, I have heard a troubling report concerning you and two other guardians, code names captain and boa, I'd like to see you all please" Ikora spoke, she sounded mildly concerned.

Mel went cold as she realised who was speaking and her heart sunk as she realised her new friends were going to get in trouble for her temper, without thinking, she rushed forward "Wait, it wasn't their fault!, please don't be mad!" she spoke desperately.

the air was dead, and Mel suddenly realised that maybe she shouldn't have spoken as the three guardians shot her concerned looks, Ikora was quiet for a moment before continuing "who is speaking"

Mel's confidence slowly died in side her and a sense of dread replaced it as she answered the vanguard "uh... Melanie... Melanie Glasser..."

the air had been light hearted and pleasant but now there was a tense edge instead, everyone seemed to be holding their breath and Ikora spoke again "very well, I would appreciate it if you could come see me too miss Glasser" she then spoke to the guardians "I would appreciate if you guardians could ensure she gets to me safely".

the warlock nodded and responded politely "of course Ikora, we will go now".

"good, I'll send you though permission codes, I will see you when you get here", and with that, Ikora was gone just as quickly as she had contacted them.

the warlock sighed as her ghost relaxed and phased out of existence "she doesn't miss a thing" Skye spoke sounding a little weary.

Mel looked toward the towering building in the distance going pale, this was not what she was expecting to do today, or ever. the tower was strictly for guardians most of the time unless a civilian did a bunch of paperwork and had a good reason to be up there. she never thought she'd ever see more than the outside of the tower. she bit her lip feeling a bit faint before trying to think of something else "how did she know... it has been barely an hour?".

the warlock smiled and put a hand on her shoulder gently "Ikora has a group called the hidden underneath her, they are her own personal and as the name suggests, hidden communication grid that spans all over the galaxy".

"I wouldn't worry too much" the titan spoke thoughtfully "she is a big softie and considering the situation, she will probably just want to know what happened from the source" she smiled "you ready to go to the tower?".

the words put Mel a little bit at ease but she still felt anxious "sure..." she glanced to the tower again, just looking at the top of it made her want to fall backwards, it was so high, she took a deep breath before nodding "I'm ready", she hoped she sounded more convincing than she looked.

the guardians changed direction, heading down some side streets before heading straight towards the tower. Mel hadn't really realised just how enormous the tower was until they started moving toward it and it barely grew as they walked forward. the guardians could see her very visible anxiety as they moved so they started a conversation to try and put her at ease a little. it worked until the they could finally see the massive base of the tower in the distance and Mel was stunned into silence.

the area was quite different to the rest of the city. granted there were different parts of the city that specialised in different businesses and activities, housing was spread thinly throughout the city with most of it in a one large area, the same with shops and businesses. they were spread among the city but there was definitely a main business district in the south of the city. this area however was made up of factories or storage it seemed. they got onto a large road that was at least a full large building in width. there seemed to be an unspoken rule of traveling on the left side of the road so large crowds of people and vehicles moved along the left in their respective direction. the road or more accurately, highway was almost guarded by large sheds holding god knows what, some of them had large open doors, showing off hangers with transport ships in various states of loading, unloading and maintenance. the crowds thinned as they moved closer to the base.

the base had three huge hanger doors cut into the wall and two were shut, leaving the centre one half open. wooden crates were piled on each side of the entrance and from a distance they looked like piles of stock, however, Mel noticed that there were five guardians all up stacked among the crates. one hunter stood right on the top of the stock, lazily leaning against the wall while there were two titans sitting on the bottom of the pile, chatting amongst themselves. the last two were on the other side of the door watching the incoming traffic, occasionally stopping people and guardians alike. Mel shivered as the tower left a looming shadow on the whole area. as they approached the door, a titan waved a hand, motioning the group to come over lazily, they complied, and the titan took his helmet off as they approached. the titan was a dark-skinned human with blonde hair and his ghost appeared beside him.

the new titan looked directly at Mel before looking at each guardian "escort mission?". the warlock nodded and pulled out her ghost which then met the titan's ghost. the titan looked back to the girl curiously "what chu do?" he asked the girl while he waited for his ghost. the ghosts seemed to be having a silent conversation between each other.

Mel blushed but was cut off by Elsie grabbing her shoulders and pulling her close to her side "just a tour of the tower" Elsie spoke confidently.

the titan looked thoughtful at the protective titan before nodding "hopefully you don't cause too much trouble". the man's ghost backed away from Skye's ghost and spoke "I have their orders, the girl is a temporary VIP, everything checks out". the titan nodded and motioned into the building "no worries, have a wonderful day ladies".

hope phased out once more and the group moved inside the base. the inside of the base was a massive cavernous room full of piles and piles of crates and stock with roads between them. huge supports lined the room and Mel felt tiny among the enormous size of everything. they walked straight ahead, and they could hear a lot of chatter and machinery in the room. Mel instinctively reached for a hand as she started to feel sick in her stomach. the titan took her hand without question and supportively squeezed it in response. despite her rough leather gloves and metal, the gesture made Mel feel slightly better. the group walked toward a huge cage in the back of the room and sirens started going off loudly as they approached it. lights flashed around the room giving off a caution signal. looking up, the top of the cage was what looked like a huge elevator shaft, she realised that she was correct in her guess when a huge heavy duty lift platform slowly lowered its way down from the ceiling to land in the cage.

the sirens and alarms stopped when the lift was safely on the floor. a few other workers and guardians had stood around the cage in anticipation of its landing and when it was safe, a worker approached the cage and opened a lock before pulling heavily on the metal cage, revealing a huge door. the door itself was enormous and rested on one of the huge support beams when open, blocking off a path to the right. the workers and guardians then proceeded to move onto the lift and shift things around as well as put some things onto the lift. the three guardians led Mel onto the lift and among the cargo, there was an area where there was a small seating area where they made themselves comfortable for the next 20 minutes.

"so, what is this?" Mel spoke loudly, so she was heard over the work around her.

"one of two cargo elevators" the titan replied "we use it for heavier things that need to be transported into the tower. lighter loads are transferred via transport carriers".

Mel watched the workers quietly for a few minutes before looking up, she almost regretted doing that when she realised the shaft didn't look like it ended from down here "how long does it take to go up?".

"twenty minutes or longer depending on how many stops there is on the way" she looks at Mel "this thing can't go that fast, but it can hold a lot which is necessary for supplying the whole tower with the living supplies it needs".

it took about fifteen minutes for the workers to leave the elevator for good and the cage door closed them inside the massive space. the room lit up once more in red caution lights and sirens sang out as a mechanical grinding sounded around them. with a gentle jerk, the lift started moving, vibrating under their feet. the room shrunk slowly, and they lifted out of the huge room, starting their journey up the shaft. the lift was rather loud but otherwise uneventful until ten minutes or so had passed, Mel started feeling dizzy but chose not to speak up, she yawned as she started feeling tired and a few minutes later, she closed her eyes to rest before everything went black.

Mel woke with a sudden start, panting heavily, her body felt heavy and sluggish and she realised she was on the floor on her back. the world was also oddly quiet as if she was in a bubble. looking around, she realised that she was seeing through what looked like glass and she put her hands up to feel her head, only to realised she had something around her head. it was then she noticed her hands were covered with leather and she felt like she was wearing something heavy. the more she focused, the more she realised new things like the fact she was breathing fresh air and there was the sound of a pump or something which must have been the cause of the air. she took a moment to calm down her breathing before sitting up with a groan and that was when she felt someone lift her up to her feet. she almost lost her balance in surprise and once she regained it, she turned and saw the three familiar guardians behind her, each with their helmets on. hope was floating above Mel curiously as if watching to make sure she was alright.

Mel once again glanced at herself and she realised with wide eyes that she was wearing warlock armour and she looked back to the three with shocked amazement "woah... what happened..." she was surprised to hear hope "you fainted from the altitude" the ghost looked apologetic "we apologise, we didn't think that far ahead but we should have assumed you wouldn't take the height well if you've never been this high before". the voice didn't sound distant like she thought it would, in fact it was like the ghost was right beside her and all around her.

Mel nodded with understanding "oh, so that's why I'm in armour?".

the ghost nodded before continuing "my abilities are limited in some senses but I can control the space inside your armour and your life signs so I can adjust for your comfort and safety, you have nothing more to worry about".

Mel smiled before grinning excitedly "that's so cool! I've always wondered what it's like to wear the guardians armour" she paused realising the armour fit her very well, considering it wasn't hers, "how does the armour fit so well?" she asked, looking at the ghost.

"guardians don't carry many physical items and even less than usual while traversing the city, instead they have a small database on their person where their gear is stored digitally. given that they are digital properties, I can adjust the data to any needs and specifications, for example, shrinking it so it fits you instead of my guardian" the ghost replied proudly.

"so, I'm a warlock for the day?" she smiled hopefully.

the ghost nodded "titan armour would be too heavy for you and hunters armour is not entirely suitable either".

Mel glanced at the titan and agreed with the ghost, there was so much armour, she would probably get buried, but the hunter, she was confused about "I get the titan armour, but why not the hunters armour".

a new voice spoke, and she recognised it to be the hunter "hunters tend to wear less, and it can be an uncomfortable style for those who prefer to be more covered up".

as she mentioned the reason, Mel looked the hunter up and down properly and blushed as she understood what the hunter meant. the hunter was entirely covered but her jump suit was very tight and the cloak that hung from her shoulders did cover her a little, but she mostly looked rather... seductive. Mel nodded in understanding "I can see that; I didn't think about that.".

"you look so goooood" Skye enthused, stepping over and adjusting Mel's robes proudly "you'd make a great warlock" she sighed.

hope stayed close to Mel for the rest of the trip, occasionally scanning her armour, adjusting things internally. Mel was over the moon and once she got used to the weight of the armour, she sat down and very proudly checked it out. she was surprised by how heavy the cloth was considering the nature of cloth. she did know that certain types of cloth were heavier than others, but this was something else. she was told that warlock cloth was infused with armour in favour of both the hunter and titan's method of protection. the warlock favoured both manoeuvrability and protection, so the cloth was the solution and wrapping themselves loosely in this armoured cloth provided smooth movement as well as projectile resistance.

she was also informed that the titan preferred to use the weight of their armour to their advantage and despite being hard to shoot through, they also actively charged their enemies and with the weight of their charge, they became a human missile essentially. hunters however valued the ability to both engage in a fight and back out when necessary, so lighter armour was needed so they could move faster than their opponents.

red lights and sirens sounded as the lift grinded to a stop finally, more workers opened yet another cage and together the guardians left the lift entering another storage type area where they received the goods from the base. in the excitement of getting her own set of armour, Mel suddenly realised her next stop was Ikora ray and her heart fluttered anxiously, it was time, she just hoped Ikora wasn't too upset.


	3. The Tower

**I Love detail, I love knowing how people live and the little things in the universes I get attached too. my mind runs wild with things, I imagine my favorite characters going on adventures and doing average things as well... I hope that doesn't tie down the story too much.**

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Chapter 3:

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they left the cage followed by a few curious stares, but no one stopped them at all and as the guardians weaved through the warehouse, they finally approached a large ramp up to higher platform. the platform was one last security check and there was a security box against the right wall with two frames occupying it. the frames themselves looked to be doing paperwork but one of them looked up, registering the groups approach "welcome to the tower, can I see your admission number please?". The warlock's ghost appeared and flew over in response, scanning the frame for a minute. the frame seemed to think on it for another minute before he nodded "everything fits, go through, enjoy your visit guardians".

there was a wide door that opened as the frame pressed a button in his desk and the guardians continued with a nervous Mel. before going too far, the warlock stopped the party and turned to Mel, pointing at her helmet "now in the very unlikely case that you get lost, hopefully we won't take our eyes off you, but if you do get lost, I want you to ask you for hope and she will show you where to go, why don't you try".

Mel nodded and took a breath before asking the air nervously "hope?".

at her question, hope instantly appeared in front of her "well done" she said "now hold still for a second". the ghosts became a ball of light before phasing out and suddenly Mel's vision seemed to glow a little bit, a map appeared in the corner of her view and a diamond popped into existence in front of her on the ground "I am your ghost for the moment, I will lead you somewhere safe if necessary, just like this".

Mel looked amazed "just like that? are you putting diamonds on the floor?".

the ghost sounded amused "yes, while I can't revive you, I can affect the vision through your helmet, leading you to where you need to go". her vision turned back to normal as the ghost appeared in front of her again "but for now, I will stay with Skye, but just call if you feel you need me".

Mel nodded, feeling a bit better now that she had a backup plan and the warlock seemed satisfied "wonderful, now follow us closely".

the titan fell back near Mel like a guard and walked with her as the hunter and warlock led the way. the guardians were less talkative now and seemed focused on getting through the tower, Mel let her eyes wander since the guardians had it figured out and she realised they were in a street like complex with buildings and alleys to their sides, they weaved through the streets and approached a smaller lift. as far as she could see, they were not at the top of the tower, yet which meant this complex was built inside it and that amazed her, she wondered how they had managed to build a city inside the tower. the lift was small but still big enough to bring crates through it, so it was still quite spacious despite the four people inside. the doors closed with a ding and the lift went up, but not for long as it stopped the next floor up.

when the doors opened, two more guardians walked in, a male hunter and female warlock. they waved a hand in acknowledgement to the others before their glances ended up pausing on the smaller guardian. the door closed behind them with a ding and the warlock spoke up "aren't you a bit small for a warlock?" she asked curiously.

the hunter with her was mildly interested as well but he punched the warlock's shoulder quickly "it's none of your business, leave them alone" he spoke to the warlock before looking to the guardians "ignore her, you know how warlocks are...". the air was a bit awkward until they got off at the next floor, the warlock was very obviously curious until the hunter pulled her behind him out of the elevator. the doors opened to another street like they'd just left, however this one was quite different as it seemed something was happening here. it looked like it was a festival of sorts and there were tents pitched up and music thumping in the area with the area flooded with colourful lights. Mel was almost disappointed when the door shut with a ding and they kept moving on up.

after a few more stops, the lift stopped for the last time with yet another ding. the doors opened to an empty but small and cosy waiting area. this was where they stepped off the lift and there was one guardian who stood and waited to get on the lift, and he was a titan who disappeared behind the closing doors. they left the small waiting area through a hallway which opened to a wide double door. it slid open on their approach and an enormous hanger was waiting for them. the hanger was even bigger than the base only it was quite hollow. there were small buildings and stations spotted around that were buzzing with activity. there was a ship docked and the hunters gaze rested somewhere around that area, the next little shelter was a workshop and there was a woman which looked rather familiar, but she couldn't place who she was. she was working on a sparrow and chatting among some helpers there. the guardians walked past but didn't stray too much further into the area as they turned left and started going up some stairs. Mel glanced back seeing a frame station but didn't get a chance to see anything else.

at the top of the stairs, Mel was already puffing a bit, the combined weight of the armour and the stairs knocked her about. she was grateful to reach the next flat area which had another four or so repair shelters with more vehicles in various states of repairs. they walked through and followed another wall around before to her dismay, they found more steps. Mel sighed and heaved herself up them, using the wall for support. she wasn't unfit per say but the armour was unexpectedly tough to walk around in. the top of stairs led out to a floating walkway and looking back to the entrance was another security check point where a frame sat in a box. Mel glanced over the edge, but the height made her feel queasy and all she could see was the endless walls of the tower foundations. the warlock stopped at the end of the walkway and looked at Mel before motioning her over. Mel complied and Skye kneeled "welcome to the courtyard, this is where most guardians fly in and out of, if you watch that area, you can see guardians land in" she used her hands to motion to the area sheltered by concrete.

as she spoke, a ship flew in to the open edge towards the back of the platform, she could see netting there hanging over the edge and frames waving landing wands. Mel watched as out of nowhere, a spotlight appeared and hovered in mid-air, shining brightly toward the ground, followed quickly by a titan phasing into existence underneath it. Mel giggled before clearing her throat "do all guardians appear like that?".

the titan laughed "no, he just enjoys showing off".

"so, you get too choose how you land? that's cool" Mel smiled, she honestly wanted to sit down and just watch but she knew she couldn't, so she felt a bit disappointed.

the titan suddenly bolted toward the edge before throwing herself off and then she was gone, Mel looked on in horror, instinctively running over and through the netting, she saw the titan falling to earth her stomach flipped at the height and she stepped away from the edge before she felt sick, as she turned, she saw the guardians walk up to her. she looked around for an explanation as a ghost she recognised as specks appeared near them and she expanded before vanishing, being replaced by light that turned into a small explosion of travers light, the titan who had just wildly jumped off then phased into existence in front of them with a bow, the hunter just sighed before looking at Mel "you have permission to hit her if you like".

Mel was relieved, amazed and a bit angry, but she settled with walking over and hugging the titan "please don't do that again...".

Elsie chuckled "I won't" she hugged the girl tight "promise, I couldn't resist the shock factor though...".

the voice of specks sounded in her helmet "sorry about that, I can't stop her from doing stupid things... I'm convinced it's in the titan's nature...".

Mel giggled with a sigh "its ok, it's just weird... I mean... you died right?".

"no, the fall is so long that my ghost was just able to transmat me somewhere else before I landed" the titan mused.

the warlock looked out to the rest of the courtyard ", so this area is the landing bay, although our ships don't dock here", at the words, Mel realised that the ships shed seen flying around did not stay there.

Mel looked thoughtful "so if they don't dock? where do they go and how come it's a landing bay?".

the warlock chuckled "will that's where our ghosts come in, we guardians all know how to fly our ships but the ghosts can also fly our ships on auto pilot, what they do is hover here" she motioned to the area above the netting "they transmat us here and then take the ship to the actual dock which was the first area we walked though, our ships are stored there until we are ready to fly out again".

"so, it's a landing bay for you guys specifically, I get it... ghosts are awesome" Mel smiled.

"they are indeed" the titan agreed.

the warlock then started leading the way through the courtyard, stopping on a reinforced glass plate on the floor, Mel chose not to look down as Skye started pointing things out. "that building there is both the post master and Eververse, the post master is responsible for holding items we can't or don't pick up while we are out and about, our ghost sends them to the post master for us. Eververse is basically a fancy shop that sells very expensive things to make the guardians look cool".

"what kind of things does it sell? "Mel spoke, looking at the very tidy awoken woman behind the counter.

the hunter stepped away from the group "things like this" she spoke, getting Mel's attention, she then lifted her hands in front of her before starting to draw a large heart in front of her before blowing a kiss. a neon red line followed her hands and faded as the hunter relaxed "basically she sells the data to make those kinds of emotes and of course teaches us how to dance" she mused.

Mel watched amazed and giggled, the warlock seemed satisfied and pointed out a small fabric shack on the other side "that is master Rahool's place, he is a cryptarch, they are a bunch of people that specialise in codebreaking and history, basically, if we find an item that our ghosts can't or don't have time to crack, we take it to him and he gives us our loot instead... he isn't the best liked though, it feels like he scams us..." the warlock sighed, she paused before continuing "the little shop front in there near Rahool is the gunsmith's quarters and we can trade parts for weapons there, he is an expert in weaponry".

she then pointed to a wall with screens built into it "they are the vaults, each guardian has one but they are digital collection of things we want to keep but can't fit on our person" her gaze moved along to an area shrouded in red "that area is the crucible handlers area where lord Shaxx hangs around" she pointed toward commander Zavala "and last but not least..".

Mel cut her off with surprise "is that commander Zavala?".

the titan chuckled "the one and only, but you probably don't want to go over there, he will quite happily give you a lecture".

the hunter nodded "he could be called a wet blanket... takes his job very seriously whether it's a good or bad thing...".

"on that note... we should go before he notices us..." Skye spoke as she started leading the way though a sheltered walkway beside the gunsmith. after walking across another suspended walkway, they entered another building with more stairs leading down into a nicely decorated area, a small tree was featured in the centre of the room. they walked past through a hallway before turning left and going down more stairs. at this point, Mel was starting to wonder what fascination the guardians had with stairs. the hallway opened to another large area but not quite as large as the courtyard. in this area there was an overlooking market area and what looked like a food shop on the other side. the guardians led the way past the market and down more stars to the left, in front of them stood a lone guardian who faced the edge of the tower, she was surrounded by a round table with books and trinkets on it, a large globe looking thing sat right on the end of the table. the guardian wore purple and Mel's heart almost stopped as she realised who it was.

Ikora ray turned as the four approached and gave them a warm smile "my guardians, it's good to see you" her gaze shifted to Mel "and of course, Melanie, a pleasure, my name is Ikora ray and I must thank you for coming to see me".

the guardians stopped in front of her and acknowledged her with a nod, Mel was struck into nervous silence but tried to choke out a greeting "...thanks... a pleasure...".

"how was the trip?" Ikora continued looking to the guardians.

"it was easy with your blessing" the titan mused "about half way up, Mel fainted from the change of altitude, she wasn't hurt but we took precautions just in case".

"she looks wonderful" Ikora chuckled "it suits you" she mused to Mel "do you enjoy it?".

Mel nodded eagerly "yeah, I love it, but its heavier than it looks", Mel quietly took in all that Ikora was, the first thing to notice was that Ikora was quite warm and welcoming, almost like a mother and you could definitely tell that she cared for the people in front of her.

she sighed pleased before her smile wavered a bit "now, as you know, I received a troubling report regarding certain events, I'd like to know what happened" her gaze rested on Mel before she continued "it is my understanding that you had a big part to play?".

this was the part Mel had been afraid of and she bit her lip before nodding "I had a fight with my mum, and I accidentally dragged the guardians into it by saying some stupid things...". Ikora listened intently, quietly letting Mel speak in her own time. after a pause after expecting Ikora to speak up, Mel continued "so we were just going out for lunch but I was super bored and mum was with a bunch of her friends" Mel glanced at the guardians "that was when I saw the guardians and since was bored, I decided to go say hello to them instead of listening to everyone be mad at them... because maybe you don't know but a lot of people are still mad at the guardians..." she scowled remembering the hatred in the room.

"anyway, so I went and said hello and it turned out they were cool, and mum freaked out when she realised, I was gone... I got angry at her because she embarrassed me" she sighed with a blush "that was when I said I'd stay with the guardians out of spite... mum left, and she was really mad but that was it...".

Ikora nodded thoughtfully before looking to the guardians "you speak for her?".

the three nodded and the hunter spoke up "we did our best not to add to the situation, however since Melanie did bring us into it, we made a deal and it entailed that we would stay with her for the rest of the day and drop her off home and in one piece at dawn".

"we asked for only one thing in return, and that was that Melanie apologise to her mother when we return her home" Skye continued.

Ikora processed the information and looked back to Mel "you agreed to this term?". Mel nodded and Ikora pondered the situation for a moment "I must admire all of your decisions, despite being dragged into a fight that was not yours, you have accepted it with open arms in a non-threatening way, I'd like to thank you all for being so responsible" she smiled "I am happy to hear it has worked out so well and the only thing I would insist on is for our new friend go through with her side of the deal" she put a hand gently on Mel's shoulder "rage can blind people and I know in the moment, some things can be said, but no relationship is irreparable, your mother will always be one of the most important people in your life, perhaps this will improve your relationship if only you both let it, be proud, but also understanding" a sad look crossed her features for a moment before she continued "you seem like a wonderful girl and I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to the tower" she smiled warmly "take your time if you feel like it".

Mel felt relief wash over her and she nodded with a smile "Thank you for letting me come up here".

Ikora nodded and held up her hand, a card phased into existence in her palm and she offered it to Mel "please, take this, you can use this to send me a message and if the time allows, I will organise someone to guide you through the tower to visit occasionally. there will be times where it is busy but if you ask, I will let you know if you can visit or not".

Mel took the card with wide eyes and she smiled "no way! thank you so much" she turned the card in her hands, and it lifted it in the light noticing it was a little see through. it was purple in colour with lines and wires running through it, she wasn't sure what it was precisely, but it was pretty, and she was sure it was helpful "how do I use it?".

Ikora seemed happy at her excitement "you can ask a ghost to pass on the message by going to a post office, or ask a guardian to do the same, keep the card out of view until you use it and after that, keep it close as it is very valuable".

Mel nodded and went to put it away before realising she didn't think she had any pockets "uh... " she looked at the guardians helplessly "do you guys... can you hold it for me? until I get it home...".

the warlock chuckled and hope appeared beside her and floated over the card, scanning it. the card phased out of her hand into nothing and the ghost disappeared again "I'll give it back when we drop you off" Skye spoke then, looking at Ikora "thank you for this, I'm sorry if this caused you trouble".

Ikora just smiled "of course not, now go have some fun, you have the rest of the afternoon to spend" she mused and gave everyone one last nod "be safe guardians". she looked at each guardian and then Mel as she said that before turning back to her desk and going back to what she was doing previously.

The guardians backed off and walked back the way they came, Mel was buzzed and after thinking, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd meant herself as a guardian too, she looked at her guides "did she call me a guardian too?... or was that in my head...".

Elsie chuckled "of course she called you a guardian, your dressed like one". at this Mel beamed and all the stairs she had to go up again were not as big a chore.


	4. New Friends and Family

**Now the first chapter did say that there might be a bit of a wait between chapters but what ended up happening was that I ended up writing everything over a month or so and because I was expecting to take a while, I decided against posting until I have a few chapters ready to go, and then I rewrote parts. I wanted to triple check the grammar, I triple checked the spelling and since I don't have anyone to read it for me, I just wanted it to be as perfect as I could make it since my writing has been terrible in the past. let me know if I miss anything ok, I hope you enjoyed the story.**

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Chapter 4:

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Now that the four had finished up with Ikora, and better yet, no one had gotten in trouble, everyone seemed happier and even the stairs seemed a little easier to climb now. as they reached the gunsmith the hunter stopped "hey, mind if go see Shaxx for a moment?" the hunter asked. the others nodded and turned to follow her as she walked into a little side path beside the gunsmith.

they had only taken a few steps when a loud shout echoed around the area. "YEAHHHHHHHHH, THEY CAN'T KILL YOU IF THEIR DEAD! HA HA", the guardians were unaffected by the sudden shout, but Mel jumped as she wasn't expecting it and continued trailing them a little anxiously. as the group rounded the corner, a huge titan stood there, hands on his hips, confidence and excitement bleeding out of him. he had fur around his shoulders and his armour looked not quite heavy duty, more of a lighter set and it was orange and white in colour mostly with what looked like a dragon or eagle symbols painted on bits a piece. his helmet stood out as there was a horn on one side of his helmet with only the stub of one on the other side. the man was watching the wall where there were a bunch of decent sized screens with images playing back scenes. he leaned forward and raised a Fist in anticipation "one final push and victory is yours!".

the guardians shifted so they could see the screens too and Mel squeezed in to see what they were looking at. the screens showed a bunch of different places but the one that seemed to have everyone's attention was a snowy mountain where guardians ran around, actively shooting other guardians. a siren sounded and the guardians stopped in their tracks and dropped their weapons to their side as the man spoke proudly "your victory gives the city hope guardians". at the end of the game, the guardians backed off and the man turned to face them with a chuckle "hello guardians, anything I can help with?" he chuckled cheerfully.

the hunter nodded "just came to see my favourite crucible handler".

Shaxx seemed to visibly radiate with happiness at that "oh you do know how to flatter a man" he mused before searching all the guardians, his gaze resting on Mel "you, you're a little pocket rocket aren't you".

Mel went to reply but she wasn't sure what she could say in return "uh...".

he barely gave her enough time before he continued "a warlock eh? you look good, dangerous even, I wonder how you go in the crucible" he said thoughtfully.

at this Mel was horrified but could barely get more than a few words out "but... I'm no...".

Shaxx cut her off with a light-hearted wave "of course you are, those robes, I know a warlock when I see one..." he chuckled "you ever seen what a warlock can do?". she was stunned into silence at this point and shook her head. at this, Shaxx pulled her over to him and pointed to one of the screens "just look at the power... the majesty" he continued. the camera was focused on one warlock and after ducking for cover for a moment the warlock sprinted out of cover and jumped up over three guardians on a flag. directly above them, the warlock seemed to stop in the air and their body glowed with purple energy which moved to their hands and as they threw their hands in the direction of the guardians, the energy exploded into a huge ball of energy that landed on top of the guardians before exploding again into many smaller balls of energy. the warlock landed on the flag and immediately started the next engagement.

Mel watched wide eyed and shocked "are they alright?" death was still weird to see.

Shaxx chuckled "of course, death only makes you stronger and weeds out the weak" he looked at Mel "warlock, enjoy your time, revel in it, for the time will end, make it a memory worth remembering, you look good, feel good, be what your dressed like, maybe one day I'll see you in the crucible too" he mused and patted her back firmly. it was clear, he didn't care who she was, whether she was a civilian or a guardian, he must not have wanted to know either as he seemed like he had no intention of asking. Mel looked at her armour and smiled proudly.

he turned back to the guardians and nodded to the hunter cheerfully "how can I help you guardian". the hunter started talking to him, but Mel didn't really pay attention as her eyes wandered back to the screens and she watched the guardians dying over and over, yet they never stopped pushing which amazed her. the precision in which they shot others was incredible and the displays of power moved her. she could see why the man had been watching so passionately.

after a few minutes, the hunter was done and patted Mel's shoulder "you ready to go?".

Mel nodded in reply and turned to wave at the man "thank you, see you later".

the man nodded "see you soon warlock, call me lord Shaxx".

the rest of the walk through the courtyard was uneventful and when they made it to the ship yard, the titan stopped "hey Mel, you want to see my ship?" she mused.

Mel looked surprised but jumped eagerly "that would be awesome!" she enthused.

the titan looked at the other two "I'll meet you in the city", the others nodded and both gave Mel a nod before turning and walking back to the elevator down, once they were gone, the titan started walking towards the huge open area behind all the buildings in the hangar. as they approached, Mel realised there was a soccer field there with lit up areas marking the goal zones and halfway mark, the word field was a bit too strong as it was made of metal but regardless. the titan stopped mid field and looked up, prompting Mel to do the same and she noticed a ship hovering above them, it then swing out of the hanger before turning around and flying back in to float to a stop beside them and leading gear appeared underneath it as it landed.

the ship was quite small compared to the transport ships and this ship looked quite different to anything she'd seen before. the ship was pointed at the front and was made up of a large metal shell for the body, there were large boosters attached to each side and the front of them was painted red. the titan stepped up to it and waved her over "come here, I'll show you something". Mel walked up to her curiously and the Elsie grabbed her, armour and all, and lifted her up onto the ship much to her surprise "this ship is called the Leonid MV, it's my favourite of my collection".

Mel stepped gently over the ship, looking at the decals on the top, a huge red lion adorned the roof "there's a lion up here".

"it's the symbol for the titans, I am very proud of my class you could say" she mused "what do you think?".

Mel walked back over to the titan and she helped Mel to the floor again "it's awesome!" she circled around the ship with a giggle "it looks fun".

"you want to take a look inside?" Elsie asked with a grin. Mel nodded eagerly in response and ran back to where the titan was "now normally I don't actually get in manually, usually I have my ghost transmat me inside..." she ducked under the ship and as if asked, a round hatch opened underneath it. "buuuut, it will be fun, I'll show you around" Mel followed the titan carefully. as Elsie reached the hatch she stood up before pulling herself up inside the ship and disappearing before offering her hands to help Mel up. Elsie had no problem lifting her and set her on the ground as the hatch closed behind them. they were in a small cabin with one chair at the controls and a long bench built into the back of the cabin.

Mel curiously walked up to the control pad which flashed almost every colour, there were buttons, levers and switches everywhere and she immediately felt overwhelmed "you can understand these?" she asked mystified.

Elsie nodded "of course, although I'd be lying if I said specs didn't do most of the work" she chuckled "you want to go for a flight?".

Mel looked at her in shock "really? yes! wait, am I allowed?". specs appeared in the cockpit and hovered over the control panel before resting down on a dock that was apparently made for her, the light inside her dimmed as the lights seemed to start flashing in a controlled fashion.

"what they don't know won't hurt "she mused "oh, you can take your helmet off now if you like, want me to show your how?" the thought hadn't even crossed her mind but the through sounded good when it was mentioned, she nodded in response "easy, now look up and feel along your neck, there's going to be a rim there with a small butterfly screw" she kneeled and showed Mel what she meant and unscrewed it, her helmet hissed as the seal was broken, she then watch Mel try. after a minute of fumbling around, she finally found the screw and she twisted it until she felt the air pressure change as it escaped her helmet, the titan seemed pleased and lifted her helmet off, prompting Mel to do the same. she was greeted by a burst as cool fresh air and she sighed in relief, the titan smiled "feels good right?".

Mel nodded and looked at the helmet in her hand, it's not like the air inside wasn't fresh but it was quite warm. she noticed her reflection on the glass and her hair looked extra fluffy now causing her to giggle "the helmets do a number on your hair".

else grinned "oh yeah, you want a comb?". she reached inside her helmet pulling out a strap and clipped the helmet onto a hook on the wall before opening a little door and pulling out a little comb. she ran it through her rather messy hair and in a moment, it was silky smooth, she then offered it to Mel "a girls always prepared" she mused. Mel took it gratefully.

the titan moved to the pilot's seat and pushed some buttons "specks, let's go somewhere private".

"I've got the perfect place" specs answered happily from the console and the ship powered up, vibrating under their feet. Mel fixed her hair quickly and settled on the bench in the back, putting the comb back where it was found quickly. the titan looked back "you want to see where we are going? come up here, it no fun sitting back there" she smiled. "

"oh, yeah..." Mel got up and walked to the front and the titan stood, letting her sit, Elsie reached over her and put the seat belt on her before settling beside Mel on one knee. looking out the window, Mel realised they had lifted from the ground and hovered above the soccer field and then they started moving forward out of the hanger. it was terrifying as the world dropped from underneath them and the mountainous land that surrounded the city stretched out on the horizon, Mel was speechless and as they left the safety of the tower, she was pushed back as the ship propelled itself forward faster. a laugh of joy escaped Mel's lips and she couldn't help but grin as the ship turned on its side and headed back towards the city. the tower stood high and proud in the distance, but the ship quickly closed the gap before sailing over it and the city. the ship then dived sharply and levelled out above the city, she could see the streets and houses.

after a few moments the ship shot upwards once more and flew over the walls and up into the cloud banks where Mel's mind was blown once again. finally, specs spoke from the console "going into manual mode".

Mel looked at the titan expectantly who looked back at girl "all you need to know is how to use this lever" she pointed to a joystick which moved in all directions "you push the stick in the direction you want to go, that's all" she smiled "go on, specs has you covered, nothing bad is going to happen" she put a hand on her shoulder supportively.

Mel gulped before grabbing the joystick with an anxious sigh, they were surrounded by cloud right now and Mel couldn't see anything. Mel was afraid to see if she could control it but suddenly she realised the ship had started to dive gently, with a gulp she pulled the stick back and the ship responded by flying up, she tried to level it out and once she was confident with that, she turned it right and the ship started turning in a wide circle. with each turn, her anxiety lessoned, and she felt more comfortable changing directions. after a few minutes she laughed as she dipped down and then went up in a large upwards roll, going all the way around and she pulled some sharper turns. it seemed like forever until the ship evened out and she could no longer control the turns. part of her was disappointed but the other half was grateful.

"nice work, you're a natural" Elsie grinned "we will head back now, but you can stay there if you like". Elsie stood and headed to the back of the ship and started going through some more hidden spaces built into the ship. Mel decided to watch as the ship flew itself back toward the city and as they flew over the protective wall, Mel quietly thought that it looked like a big cage from a distance away. the ship dipped low and after a few minutes slowed to a crawl before stopping on top of a roof, it didn't deactivate however and Elsie stood up, grabbing Mel's helmet before unbuckling her. Mel took the helmet and held it as she watched the titan pull out a few things before heading to the hatch on the floor and waving Mel over "you should be right to safely jump down; I will be right with you".

Mel glanced over the edge of the hole in the floor and indeed, the roof was quite close but she still felt like it was quite high up, she bit her lip anxiously and glanced at the titan who gave her a comforting smile, Mel nodded and sat on the ground before taking a deep breath and pushed herself off the edge, careful of hitting the hatch. she landed with a thud after a very short fall, she sighed with relief, moving to the side and waited for Elsie, meanwhile, she realised she was on quite a high roof and all around them were much smaller houses, she also didn't see a way down. there was another loud thud behind her, and she turned to see Elsie straighten up and slide something under her armour. Mel didn't think much of it and the ship closed before gliding away gracefully.

"so why are we on a roof?" Mel asked curiously.

Elsie smiled "you aren't allowed to land in the streets, only roofs if needed".

"oh... so where are we going now?" Mel continued.

"well I've got to carry you again, you alright with that?" she pointed to an open area in the distance "there is our destination".

Mel looked and upon seeing the target, she nodded "that's ok, what's that place?".

"a market" Elsie replied as she once more picked Mel up before walking backwards "you might want to hold on this time". Mel looked for somewhere to hold on too but didn't get a chance to grab on before Elsie started running and she kicked off the roof and glided up into the air, the titan's boosters stopped as they reach the peak of the arc and they started falling. it was then that the boosters propelled them forward even quicker than before as they glided down and using the momentum, the titan jumped off the next roof. it was scary as first, but Elsie held her in a tight princess hold so she felt quite safe after a moment and she discovered that it was quite thrilling once she'd gotten used to the ride. they stopped quite suddenly, and the titan slowed down and walked to the edge and this time jumped of the edge, gliding safely to the ground. they landed in an alley and Mel got put down.

"so how do you do that?" Mel asked breathlessly.

Elsie looked at her as if she had been thinking "hmm? do what".

"the glide thing... " Mel tried to do a hand gesture to help explain but it didn't really help.

Elsie nodded with a chuckle "ah, well my boots and shins have boosters which I can control to adjust my speed and fall" she pointed out the compact boosters for Mel "they have limited charges that need to reset after every few bursts".

"all guardians have these?" Mel continued thoughtfully, she remembered the hunter and warlocks boosting looked a bit different.

"yeah" Elsie replied before biting her lip in thought "I'm not the greatest explainer, which is why Skye and Anne talk about fancy stuff, but depending on your class, you have a different type of booster which suits the weight and style you have better" the titan started leaving the alley and waved her along " speaking of, follow me, let's find the others" she smiled.

Mel nodded and followed eagerly, helmet under arm. the alley opened into a market made up of tents and buildings, Elsie seemed to know where she was going and led the way through the mess of shops and approached a big shed with a large fallen cloak hanging over the doorway as a curtain. they walked into the waiting room which was strange for a shop, there were no products or anything, it was just a bunch of benches in a waiting room, the hunter and warlock were standing in the middle of the room speaking to a shifty looking older human, it looked they had just finished up their business as the man turned and left through a door in the back of the room. the titan joined the guardians and playfully got up behind them and leaned on their shoulders. they responded by shrugging her off with a smile and the titan pulled her card out of her armour, giving it to the warlock before finding a bench to sit on with Mel.

Mel watched quietly and upon Elsie's return, Mel leaned over "so what are you guys dropping off here?".

"scarp that we found while out and about, it's the best way to earn glimmer" she smiled to the girl "it's not always glamourous to be a guardian" she mused. Mel nodded thoughtfully and continued to watch the guardians. the shifty man returned after a few minutes with a large trolley and he parked it in front of the two guardians who both pulled out two more cards, all three cards were then placed in the man's hand and he inspected them closely before placing the cards one by one into a box hanging off the trolley.

the base of the trolley started glowing as a bunch of stuff transmatted directly into the trolley. it went from empty to practically overflowing. Mel recognised a few bits a piece in the trolley like fallen cloth and gun parts as well as metal scraps she didn't recognise. the man looked pleased and returned the cards when they were empty. he said a few more things before a handshake signified the end. Elsie stood as her friends started leaving, followed by Mel.

"so that's that, I'm hungry, anyone joining me?" the warlock smiled.

the hunter looked to the sky with a quiet sigh "I hate to burst your bubble, but we should be heading back shortly...". the two guardians looked up in response and Mel's heart sunk as she realised the afternoon was starting to dim. the guardians seemed to look a bit disappointed at Mel, but they shrugged it off quickly.

"maybe next time..." the warlock smiled. the others agreed and they started walking quietly. Mel was starting to feel a sense of dread at the thought of returning to her mother, not to mention, the thought of potentially not seeing the guardians again, she sighed until she had an idea.

"I know a place if you want to pick something up on the way?" Mel added hopefully.

with a moment of thought, the titan nodded "if it's not too busy, sounds good".

they continued walking quietly for a while before Skye looked to Mel "well despite everything, did you have a good day?" the warlock asked hopefully.

Mel brightened up "of course, it was the best day of my life" she beamed "I don't regret anything!" she added.

the hunter chuckled "I am glad you had fun, I think I can speak for all us when I say, it was a pleasure to baby sit you" she mused.

"absolutely" Elsie agreed.

Mel remembered her armour and looked a bit disappointed before motioning to it "uh, what about this? how do I give it back?".

Sky looked at her armour for a moment before she shrugged "I don't really need it; I suppose you can keep it... plus you're a cute warlock" she giggled.

Mel looked surprised and beamed "thank you!". the rest of the trip they chattered happily, and Mel pointed out a small shop that sold roast chook and chips in small meals. the guardians each ended up getting a meal each as well as shouting Elsie a meal. they also got an extra few meals for later they said and after another ten minutes of walking, Mel led the way to her front door.

Mel stopped in front of the door and hesitated thinking about everything that happened today, and a small seed of anger spurred inside her, she wasn't sure if she could apologise. her hesitation was broken by the titan knocking on the door first and almost instantly the door burst open and her angry mother stood there expectantly "welcome home...". Mel avoided her eyes biting her lip, her mother still hadn't calmed down. her mother breathed angrily "don't ignore me... how dare you..." she continued in a low growl.

Mel clenched her fists as she tried not to bit back but she made the mistake of looking up and noticing her dad also looked furious behind her mother and she snapped "I wouldn't have done it if you guys didn't strangle me all the time, I'm a grown girl... I can look after myself and you know that... we are safe now... I just needed space..." her voice cracked as her desperation escaped her "I love you both but please...I'm not a baby...".

this seemed to make her parents pause and calm down, the air was heavy with awkwardness until her mother pulled her close and sniffed "I know, I'm sorry baby, I just don't want you hurt...", her dad nodded in agreement and then his gaze travelled to the guardians.

he seemed to hesitate for a moment "I'm assuming you are the guardians my daughter stayed with today...".

the titan nodded a bit awkwardly "uh, we brought this for you, I'm sure you were worried today" Elsie lifted the extra meals up to the father "we didn't want to buy your forgiveness or anything, we just know what's it's like to worry about someone... so this is our apology I suppose, I hope it is enough".

the father looked surprised and took it with hesitation "thank... thank you...".

the hunters gaze came to rest on Mel " we will leave you be, but there is just one thing we need...". Mel felt the gaze and she sighed and pulled away from her mum and kicked the ground awkwardly "mum, dad, I'm sorry for running away...".

the father stared at her before sighing "don't get us wrong, your still grounded..." he frowned before patting her head "but... its fine kiddo, just don't let it happen again...".

the mother whole heartedly agreed before her gaze awkwardly turned to the guardians as well. "uh... I am sorry for what I said about you guardians... it wasn't right on my part to say what I did..." it looked difficult for the woman to apologise but the guardians looked surprised and smiled in response.

"no worries" the warlock shrugged it off "we aren't perfect, that is true, but as long as you know we try our best, we can rest easy".

"hey, you want to come in and eat with us?" the man asked motioning inside, he then looked at Mel's armour "and uh...".

"she can keep it" the warlock added "it's my gift" she smiled before looking to the others for the next answer, the titan and hunter agreed "dinner sounds nice" the warlock continued.

"great" the man smiled and retreated into the house, Mel and her mother followed.

"I might take my armour off... it's probably a bit bulky..." the titan looked thoughtful; specs appeared beside her "what would you like to wear?" she asked quietly. the titan bit her lip, something nice but not too nice...". the ghost nodded and after a moment, scanned the titan, taking off her armour and replacing it with shorts, a tank top and jacket. the titan shivered as she hadn't been out of her armour for a few days and it was strange to be out in the open air.

"you know you have a point, I might do the same" the warlock spoke as her ghost changed her armour out for a long dress which was kind of like her armour anyway, but that was beside the point.

the hunter did the same and she changed into some jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, she however kept her cloak on which made the other two raise their eyebrows, this prompted the hunter to blush a bit "what... I feel naked without it...". the other two giggled before following the family inside politely.

as they all sat down to eat dinner, Mel's mother looked at her armour and hesitated before commenting almost shyly "do you need to wear that to dinner?".

Mel looked a bit surprised before looking shy "uh... I don't... I don't know how to take it off..." she blushed.

the warlock looked embarrassed before laughing "oh, I forgot about that, allow me to show you, it's easy once you've done it once... it won't take long..." she got up quickly, motioning for Mel to follow until she realised it wasn't her house "oh, you better lead actually...".

Mel giggled and led the way to her room before blushing "will I have to take it all off...".

the warlock looked confused before shaking her head "not until I'm out of the room, I ill just show you how to undo all the overcoat and you can figure out the rest" she smiled and crouched in front of Mel. kay pointed out the important parts of the armour and showed her how to take the top coat of the armour off, which was the heavy part. it turned out that it was basically just a big trench coat essentially, but it was belted in different places, so the armour didn't budge. once that was off, Mel pointed out the zip for the body suit and hesitated before leaving so she could give the girl Ikora gift.

after that, the warlock left, and Mel was alone with her new armour and she pondered over her day. it had been great, and she hoped that maybe she could see the guardians again. she got changed into something more comfortable and headed down for dinner. it was a bit awkward, but the guardians soon won over her parents completely and it was a great night.

* * *

**hi, so if your reading this, you read my short story, I have another one that follows this line of events and I think I will post it too, however it's probably going to be another short story. I plan to post it after I'm completely satisfied with it and that may take a while, or not, depending on certain things, but, keep feel free to keep an eye out for the follow up, feel free to leave reviews and tell me what you think and of course if there's a big mistake than you noticed anywhere.**

**I really hope you have a great day/night, thanks again for reading.**


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